Explore New Restaurants in Rhinelander on Navajo Street Near Highway 17

"Rhinelander and Oneida County in my opinion is positioned perfectly to be the hub of the north," Tony Pharo, executive director of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation, told WJFW. "We want to be the place that they stop and use their money as well as Minocqua and Three Lakes."

That goal now shows up on the ground. In 2026 Rhinelander added several new places to eat at the edge of town, on the road in from Eagle River. All summer, a state highway project closed US 8 on the southeast side and sent its traffic through town. Downtown's answer was a schedule: promotions, a Saturday market, and holiday weekends that bring people downtown on purpose. Rhinelander now has two errand routes, and both changed this year.

Navajo Street, by the Holiday Inn

The development WJFW described sits on the stretch of Highway 17 that enters Rhinelander's north side from Eagle River. The station called it a new strip mall built to "further establish Rhinelander as a Northwoods business hub." The same report said most of the construction was privately funded, with a small share supported by tax-increment financing.

Two restaurants named in that plan are now open on Navajo Street, a few doors apart:

Rosati's has no announced opening day. A customer review on its location page says it opened in May, which puts the opening this spring. Erbert & Gerbert's has a clearer backstory. The Rhinelander franchise is owned by Joe Flanders, who grew up in town and liked the sandwich chain while he was a student at UW-Eau Claire. He and his wife decided they wanted one in Rhinelander, and WJFW reported that getting it open took about 18 months.

"It's special to me and my wife because we were born and raised here and now we are bringing something to the community and we are proud of that," Flanders told the station. The doors opened at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning. One early customer said there were plenty of good places to eat in town, but he liked having "something new and different and something fast."

Both restaurants quickly joined the local business calendar. The Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce listed Rosati's Pizza and Erbert & Gerbert's as joint hosts of its June 17 Business After 5 at the Holiday Inn Express, 1958 Navajo St.

A clinic on the same road map

The WJFW plan also included an ENT clinic offering audiology, allergy, and ear, nose and throat care. ENT & Allergy Associates opened a stand-alone Rhinelander clinic on July 15 and held a public open house and ribbon-cutting on Sept. 17, according to WSAW. The coverage does not give a street address, so call ahead before assuming it shares a parking lot with the sandwich shop.

For anyone living in Oneida County, audiology, allergy, and ear, nose and throat care now has its own Rhinelander location. "A lot of folks are recognizing the need for these services," Pharo said of the corridor's mix of clinics and restaurants.

The corridor plan reaches further than what is built so far. WJFW reported that a housing complex might eventually go up near Menards, and it described a possible future for Highway 17 with housing, an inn, restaurants, and stores. No project name, developer, or schedule has been reported for those pieces. Until one is, treat them as plans.

Lincoln Street carried the detour

The new north-side stops opened during the summer when US 8 was closed on the southeast side. In March, WisDOT announced a $6.2 million contract with Musson Brothers to rebuild US 8 between WIS 47 and WIS 17 North in the town of Pelican. While the work went on, the agency said, through traffic would be detoured along this route:

1. WIS 17 North
2. Lincoln Street
3. South Courtney Street
4. Pelham Street
5. Arbutus Street
6. Kemp Street

That route ran through Rhinelander itself, not around it. One of the newer chain openings sits right on it. WJFW reported that A&W's Rhinelander location is at 1120 Lincoln St. The station's opening-day report listed hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The coverage does not settle its opening year. It does mean the detour took traffic straight past a recent addition to the town's restaurant map.

Once US 8 reopens, that traffic returns to the highway and Lincoln Street loses the extra cars. Drivers who stopped at Rhinelander businesses because the detour put them there will have to choose to come back.

Two single-lane roundabouts on the southeast edge

When the road does reopen, the drive will be different. WisDOT's plan calls for rebuilding two US 8 intersections as single-lane roundabouts: WIS 17 South/WD Boyce Drive and County G. Both had stoplights before construction. The contract also calls for crews to remove the old asphalt and concrete, lay new asphalt with centerline rumble strips, and mill and resurface the WIS 17 North/Germond Road intersection with US 8.

These roundabouts are on the southeast side of town, while the Navajo Street restaurants are on the north side. Both stretches changed in the same year.

The finish date has moved more than once:

• March 19: WisDOT said construction was scheduled to finish by November 2026, depending on weather and progress.
• Aug. 3: WXPR reported the roundabout at County G was taking shape and said the project was scheduled to finish in late September.
• Sept. 4: The state's 511 project page, last updated that day, gave the schedule as April 20 to October 2026. It said crews were still paving and US 8 was still closed and detoured.

As of Oct. 3, we have not seen a public notice that US 8 has reopened or that the detour is lifted. Before driving in from the Pelican side, check the 511 project page at projects.511wi.gov/us8rhinelander.

Downtown kept its customers with a calendar

While the highway edges added new places to eat, downtown Rhinelander ran events to keep shoppers coming. In August, Explore Rhinelander introduced the Sweet Stop Stroll, a month-long shopping promotion that ran through Aug. 31. Its six stops were Cool Beans FroYo Café, BC Cakes and More, Butcher Shop Bake Company, Almond & Berry, Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe, and Briq's Soft Serve. Each one is a downtown business that people reach on foot, not from a drive-through lane.

The calendar continues through the fall:

• Hodag Farmers' Market: Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Pioneer Park on Martin Lynch Drive. The season ends on the third Saturday in October, which this year is Oct. 17.
• Downtown Trick or Treat: Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. at participating downtown businesses.
• Business After 5: Oct. 21 at Ripco Credit Union, 121 Sutliff Ave., hosted through the chamber.
• Downtown Holiday Open House: listed for Nov. 20 to 22 on Brown and Davenport streets, with participating shops and decorated storefronts. The listing was posted in March, so confirm the dates closer to the weekend.

Read together, these dates show a downtown that builds its own reasons for a visit and a highway edge that gets traffic because people pass by. A weekday sandwich at 1973 Navajo St. and a Saturday morning at Pioneer Park serve different trips into the same town.

What the fall drive looks like

For someone coming in from Eagle River, Three Lakes, or the lakes north of town, WIS 17 now has new places to stop before reaching downtown. Rosati's and Erbert & Gerbert's stand next to each other near the Holiday Inn Express, and their listed hours run into the evening every day. Drivers coming from the Pelican side will meet two new roundabouts once US 8 reopens, and until it does, they will follow the detour streets through town. Downtown's next fixed dates are the last farmers' market on Oct. 17 and Trick or Treat on Oct. 24.

If you own a lake home here and are thinking about the shoulder season, routes into town like these shape how vendor visits, deliveries, and weekend arrivals get planned. Kelly Cooper and the LakeTime Management team keep track of these changes for owners who are away, and she is glad to talk through how your property fits into the fall drive. Let's Connect.